USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Mexico ceded nearly all the territory now included in the U.S. states of New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, California, Texas, and western Colorado for $15 million and U.S. assumption of its citizens’ claims against Mexico. Read more about the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Detailed explanation-2: -This treaty, signed on February 2, 1848, ended the war between the United States and Mexico. By its terms, Mexico ceded 55 percent of its territory, including the present-day states California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming.

Detailed explanation-3: -Polk sent a diplomatic mission to Mexico in an attempt to buy the disputed territory, together with California and everything in between for $25 million; an offer the Mexican government refused. The U.S. sent troops to the disputed Rio Grande, ignoring Mexican demands to withdraw.

Detailed explanation-4: -Polk and others saw the acquisition of Texas, California, Oregon, and other territories as part of the nation’s Manifest Destiny to spread democracy over the continent. The U.S. also tried to buy Texas and what was called “Mexican California” from Mexico, which was seen as an insult by Mexico, before war broke out.